FRANKFURT – Industrial production in Germany rose by 3.7 percent on the month in May, the Economy Ministry said Wednesday, offering the second hopeful signal for Europe’s biggest economy in as many days.

In April, industrial production had declined by 2.6 percent. The country now appears to be over the worst of the crisis, the ministry said in a statement.

Production of big-ticket items such as heavy machines was up 8.3 percent in May, while production of industrial components was up 4.3 percent. Consumer goods makers saw a slight 0.6 percent increase in production.

The ministry said the production of cars and car parts also contributed to the increase.

With orders solidifying, “there is a better outlook for the development of industrial production,” the Economy Ministry said.

On Tuesday, the ministry reported that German industrial orders increased by a healthy 4.4 percent in May over the previous month.

Slack demand for German manufactured products was a key reason for the export-dependent economy’s slide into recession over recent quarters.

UniCredit Economist Andreas Rees called the increase “whopping,” and said it was the biggest monthly rise since 1993.

“Will the bang transform itself into a big bang for Germany?,” Rees wrote in a research note.

“In our view, the recession in the whole economy is nearly behind us – but only nearly. The reason is that overall industrial production in April and May is still down 1.8 percent compared to the first quarter 2009,” she wrote.

“We therefore stick to our view that overall real GDP will shrink comparatively slightly in spring,” she wrote, adding, however, that the odds are growing that the German economy will be growing again after the summer.

Rees said one area that particularly caught his eye was the increase in production in the auto sector, which was up more than 24 percent month-on-month.

German car companies Daimler AG and BMW AG this week reported improvements in their June sales over May, while Audi AG said Wednesday its sales for June had improved by 1.3 percent on year-ago levels.

Audi, which is part of Volkswagen AG, Europe’s biggest carmaker, said it was on track to meet the sales goal it set at the beginning of the year of selling 900,000 cars in 2009.

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